Gods Among Men
by ashyash22
Summary: After tragedy strikes Tatsumi in his childhood he is forced to grow up faster than any child should at his age. With only a vow and his newly found friend as his motivation he has sworn his vengeance and will not rest until it is achieved.
1. Iris

There are many different kinds of people living in the world but there are a certain few that can rival the power of a god. These people are those that command a legendary weapon known as an Imperial Arms or more commonly known as a Teigu. These are weapons whose way of making have long been forgotten. Each Teigu can give its wielder strength that only another wielder can challenge making it impossible for a regular person to stand a chance against one.

Does this make the world unfair or does it make it just? Some may say those who have the capability to wield a Teigu deserve their power while others say that is completely unfair for one person to command so much power. While others take advantage of their Teigu and use it for the most atrocious reasons that make even a danger beast seem more human than them.

This is a world where ones full potential can mostly be assessed by the time they are born. The weak stay weak, the strong stay strong, but occasionally they are a few errors in this system. There is always an error within every system and thus not everything is truly set in stone. One of these errors was a human born in a isolated village that was considered among the weak. But that did not matter because everyone in this village would be considered weak by the strong as no one of significance had ever been born here. But that all changed when the child that was born met someone completely different from what he was used to.

* * *

A brown haired green eyed child around the age of five walked around a snowy forest as a snowstorm raged on. Now there was many things wrong with this situation because no child should be alone in the middle of a snowstorm but that didn't matter to Tatsumi. He was used to being alone every since a year ago when all of the children in his village had been sold. Apparently his village couldn't pay their taxes so soldiers came and took all the children. Tatsumi had luckily been away scavenging in the woods at the time so he wasn't taken but sadly the same couldn't be said for the other children. Even his two best friends Sayo and Ieysau had been taken away from him. Thus formed the habit of him playing by himself since he had no other choice.

He had been caught up in this snowstorm unexpectedly since there had been no warning signs one was going to appear. Normally Tatsumi would be able to go home due to him having memorized the area like the back of his hand but due to the poor visibility the snowstorm caused he was unable to even see more than three feet in front of him. And so he was forced to blindly stumble through the violent cold winds as he tried to find some short of shelter that would shield him from the elements. After another couple minutes the young child was lucky enough to stumble into a cave that was surprisingly warm despite the raging whirlwind of snow going on outside.

Tatsumi nearly collapsed as he entered as it had took almost all of his strength to have come here. He managed to catch himself on one of the walls of the cave before he slowly sat down to take a rest. He didn't know for how long he sat as he just sat at the entrance staring outside watching the snowstorm. After he had regained his energy and become bored of watching the outside he had decided to explore the cave as he could not see the end from where he currently was. So Tatsumi stood up and began to walk a straight line going deeper into the cave.

The cave had become dark due to the lack of light coming from the entrance and the further he went in the dark it became. After a couple more seconds the darkness had become absolute making it impossible to see anything but Tatsumi did not care and continued his walk. After another couple of minutes he saw a very small speck of light which confused him at first. He rubbed his eyes and after confirming it wasn't just his imagination picked up his pace eager to see where the light came from. Soon enough he had reached a another room in the cave that was in the shape of a dome. At the top of the dome was an opening form which light entered the cave. None of that attracted Tatsumi's attention however as he looked at the opposite side of the room where a bed was.

He slowly approached the bed as he wondered why one would be here in the first place. The bed looked ordinary and had no distinguishing features but as he got close he saw that it was currently occupied. He paused in his walk in fear of who this person was but after watching and confirming that they seemed to sleep he resumed a slow walking pace to get closer.

As he got to the side of the bed he was able to make out the features of the sleeping person. It was a young girl around his age but that wasn't what was catching his attention. Tatsumi could not stop staring at the young girls hair as it was composed of five different colors each of them going neatly straight down the long hair. The colors themselves only helped to amplify the beauty of the girl. From left to right the colors of her hair were a dark deep purple, a light carefree blue, pure innocent white, bright bubblegum pink, and a light fiery red.

Tatsumi didn't know for how long he stood there as he just stared at the girl entranced by her beauty. Part of him wanted to wake the girl up while another part told him not to. He had no idea who this girl could be but something inside him told him that she was no threat.

And so he slowly leaned forward and said, "Hello, Can you wake up now?" Tatsumi had no idea how to wake a person as he had never done it before. Sure he could do something as slapping her awake or pushing her out of the bed but that was just plain cruel. He got no response and he knew that any verbal attempts to wake the girl up would be pointless. And so he decided to slowly extend his arm with a single finger extended. He paused just before he touched her cheek before steeling his nerves and pushing forwards connect their skin.

Tatsumi had no idea what he was expected to get a reaction but it sure wasn't the girl sitting up instantly letting out a shriek and then falling back down onto the bed as she had been before he touched her. This had caused Tatsumi to jump away from the bed as the shriek the girl had let out had scared him immensely. It was minutes before his heart had returned to its normal pace and during that time the girl had yet to make another sound or move. Slowly he approached the bed and as he noticed this he saw that the girl's eyelids were twitching slightly. Knowing something would happen as it did last time he slowly extended his finger and poked her in the cheek once again.

However, unlike last time the girl did not jerk up straight and let out a scream but instead let out a soft moan. After waiting for a minute and nothing else happening he repeated this and this time the girl's eyes slowly opened. Her eyes much liker her hair were also astoundingly beautiful. They were a shade of dark blood red and even though the color seemed dark the light that shone within them was nothing but pure sweet innocence. Tatsumi stood still as he was transfixed with the girl's beautiful eyes but was snapped back to reality when she spoke.

"Who...are you?" She asked with a timid shyness as she sat up, her voice soft and sweet.

"Tatsumi." He said introducing himself not exactly sure what to say. "Who are you?" He finally decided to ask.

"Iris." The girl responded in same was as before.

"Why are you in this cave?" Tatsumi asked wanting to know why a bed and a girl were inside a cave in the middle of nowhere. Instead of giving him an answer she just shook her head sadly in response.

"You don't know?" He asked feeling pity for the girl. She gave him a simple nod. No more words were said as neither of them moved for minutes. Finally, the silence was ended by the growling of the girl's stomach. Tatsumi let out a laugh as the girl just shuffled in place embarrassed. Tatsumi thought to himself for a minute before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic bag which contained six small cookies. The girl eyed the bag as a predator would eye their prey.

"You want one?" Tatsumi asked her as he took one out and held it before her. He didn't see anything but a blur as she lunged her head forward and retracted with the cookie in her mouth, the action reminded him of a cobra. After she had devoured the cookie she resumed her intense staring contest with the bag of sweets. He took two of them out this time and like last she just lunged forward and ate the cookies. Tatsumi let out a laugh of amusement before piling the final three cookies out but the addition of the third cookie proved too much as she could only get two of them. But that didn't matter much as the girl quickly tore through the two before snatching up the final one and let it joint he rest of them.

"Yummy." Was all she said with a content smile as she leaned back. A strange vibrating noise began the air and Tatsumi looked around to find the source and was shocked to find that it was coming from the girl. He was trying to remember where he had heard a similar noise from before until an image of a cat flashed to his mind making the connection between the new noise and that of a cat purring. He couldn't help but let out a small laugh at the cute girl before him.

"Would you like more yummy food?" He asked her. The girl's eyes widened slightly before she nodded her head as a slight amount of drool came out of the corner of your mouth. "I live not too far from here and I can promise some good food if you come with me." He told her. Truthfully he wanted her to come with him because it had been so long since he had hung around someone with a similar age to his. The snowstorm outside had probably stopped by now so it should be safe to return to his village anyways. She stared at him as if she was judging him before giving a soft nod as she got out of the bed revealing her clothing which consisted of a pure white sundress and matching sandals.

And with that, the two of them left the cave on person hungry the other happy to have finally found a friend. But neither of them knew what would happen when they would arrive at the village.

 **Hope you like the first chapter! I have been planning this story for months and I am really excited to finally publish it! Please leave a review as it helps motivate me!**

 **Next Chapter: Flames of Madness**


	2. Flames of Madness

In the time it took both Tatsumi and Iris to make it back to his village very few words had been spoken. Whenever Tatsumi had tried to ask something or try and start a conversation she would quickly shut him down with a simple one or two-word sentence. Even though it felt rude Tatsumi could tell she didn't mean it that way and just based it on her being shy or something. But all of these thoughts were quickly pushed out of his head as Tatsumi saw a red glow on the horizon accompanied by the faint remains of a giant plume of smoke.

Not even hesitating he broke out into a full panicked run with Iris trailing not too far behind. Tatsumi was frantic wondering what happened even though somewhere in the back part of his mind he had already figured out. As he arrived at the top of a snowy hill looking over his village he was greeted with the ashen remains of what it once was. He felt as if the light was sucked out of him but he quickly ran towards the village hoping that everyone was okay even though he already knew the answer.

As he arrived in the village he quickly went over to where his home was or where it used to be. Charred gray wood along with ash was all that remained of his proud home but nonetheless he dug through the ashes in a desperate hope of finding anything or anyone that had survived. After five minutes of searching he had found nothing and at this moment the floodgates in his eyes finally broke as he let it all out. He slouched to the ground on his knees and put his face into the palms of his hands and continued to cry for minutes and would have lasted much longer if it wasn't for a small pair of arms pulling him forward. He didn't even have to check to know it was Iris due to the height of the person and continued to cry into her chest as she slowly rubbed his back in a comforting motion.

After a few more minutes the tears had run dry and Tatsumi finally managed to choke out the words, "Thank you." Iris didn't say anything as a dull flash of sunlight reflected off something in one of the small ash piles that Tatsumi didn't search. Walking over to the source she pulled out the source of the reflection of light to be presented with a blade that was nearly a foot long. For an adult, this wouldn't be considered more than a dagger but for someone of her and Tatsumi's age it was the perfect sword.

"Is this yours?" She asked as she walked over and presented the blade to Tatsumi. His eyes widened in recognition as he saw the blade and he quickly snatched it out of the girl's hands but was careful enough to make sure the blade didn't cut the girl. He hugged the blade close to him as he was just happy that one thing had survived.

"Yes, it was, thank you." He said to her.

"What happened here?" Iris asked him as she scanned the area. She had no clue what was going on other than that Tatsumi was saddened over this place and had so far deduced this was his village.

"A Teigu," Tatsumi said saying the words with the utmost malice and hatred. The second word caused Iris to shift uneasily but she quickly shook it off as she tilted her head in confusion.

"Teigu?" She asked.

"A weapon of unprecedented power." He said still keeping his hate in his words. "I learned about them from my master a year ago when he gave me this blade on my birthday. He said those weapons were unfair as they gave everyone who used them a shortcut to power."

"How do you know this was caused by a Teigu?" Iris asked him.

"Only three things could destroy a village like this. The first and most unlikely one is a dangerbeast but one of that power lives nowhere near here as we would have noticed a long time ago. The only other two options are a Teigu or the Empire and more than likely it was one of the Empire's Teigu users." He said remembered how much the Empire hated his village. First, they had taken away all the other children away and now they had completely removed the village.

"I'm sorry." Was all Iris could say as she had no idea what to say to make him feel better. She had never been in a position similar to this as she could barely remember anything from before Tatsumi had woken her up in the cave. She could remember places and animals but when she tried to recall anything specific it just ended up giving her a headache.

"Don't be it wasn't your fault. I will, however, bring the one responsible for this to death." Tatsumi said as he stood up.

"And how will you do that?" Iris asked wondering how he could kill someone who had burned down his whole village.

"Because I will it." Was his response as he started walking away from the village down a small road that no one would notice unless they knew what to look for. He then stopped in his walk and looked back to make sure Iris was following him only to notice she wasn't. "What's wrong you're not hungry anymore?" He asked causing a look of utter confusion to all on the girl. She was confused because a couple of minutes ago he was crying and now he was worried about her still being hungry. She kept that look of confusion until she inspected his green eyes and saw that they were duller than they were when she first saw him. Iris realized that Tatsumi was holding in his pain.

"You can cry some more if you want to." She said as she caught up to him.

"It wouldn't do any good." He replied. Iris wanted to argue saying it wasn't good to bottle up one's emotions but dropped it after looking at his face and just gave a simple nod. They walked for a few more minutes in silence until it was broken by the growl of Iris' stomach. "Don't worry we're almost there," Tatsumi said with a laugh causing Iris to smile. She was happy that even after what happened that he could still laugh even though you could see the pain laced in it.

"What are we eating anyways?" She asked to notice that Tatsumi had stopped and was looking over to their right. She followed his gaze to see a wild boar.

"They are pretty common around here and tend to stay close to the village since we bother them less than the dangerbeasts," Tatsumi explained as he slowly approached the boar. Iris began to wonder what he was planning as the boar would just run away or attack him but was left speechless when Tatsumi stopped walking for a split second and in the next was beside the boar whose neck had been cut clean in half.

"H-How?" Iris asked as Tatsumi returned to her with the boar's body in tow.

"I'll explain as we eat this but would you mind gathering some firewood as I skin it?" He asked her. While Iris wanted to know what he had just right away she could be a little patient and gave a nod as she walked away. As she got out of earshot Tatsumi immediately dropped the boar as he began having a violent fit of coughs as he spat out a glob of blood. Luckily the blood mixed with the already blood soaked snow that had resulted from the dead boar. He didn't want Iris to find out this part of the power as he had only used it to get them food. He started skinning the boar and Luckily soon enough after that Iris returned with the firewood and after a few failed attempts they got a fire going as they cooked pieces of the boar on sticks.

"Can you explain now?" She asked him from where she sat across from him. The snow was cold and a tad bit uncomfortable underneath the two of them but they really didn't have any alternatives.

"Let me find the words on how to start this." He replied. Tatsumi was going to leave some parts out of the story but some he would keep. "I suppose it would begin when I was born. I was born a very weak child and I was expected to die within the first week of birth. Luckily for my parents, there was a retired army veteran in the village who happened to know a bit of alchemy. They pleaded with him to make me better and so he agreed on the condition that I would become his apprentice in the future. My parents agreed to this as they handed me over to him."

I gave a pause to catch my breath as I tried to recall the next few details as they were hazy to me. "He experimented all night trying to help me and ultimately decided to fuse a bit of a dangerbeast core into my body. It had never been attempted before but he had theorized this would work and amazingly it did. My body after that operation was multiple times more healthy than any other child should be at that age." He left out the part about how if he used it his body would become incredibly weak and more than likely become injured.

"So since your body was fused with a dangerbeast core it enhances your physical attributes?" Iris asked him as she took her meat away from the fire pleased that her food was done cooking.

"Pretty much." They spent the few minutes in a comfortable silence as they ate the boar and the silence would have continued if not for the nearby crunching of snow. Tatsumi hurriedly stood up as he heard this noise. After being raised in the area for all his life practically he could tell mostly what was approached due to how the snow crunched and he knew a person was nearby. He silently drew his blade just in time to realize how pathetically useless it would be as a massive man with a mask on his face and a giant flamethrower in his arms came out of the trees.

"I'm sorry to do this." The man said in a sincere tone before all of Tatsumi's vision was filled with the violent torrent of flames.

 **Thanks to everyone who has read, favorited, followed, and reviewed the story so far! Hope you enjoy the chapter and keep the love coming!**

 **Next Chapter: Out of the Snow and into the Inferno.**


	3. Out of the Snow and into the Inferno

The violent torrent of flames scalded Tatsumi's skin and he screamed out in pain, as his body was being cooked alive. But strangely the flames were not melting him, or causing as much pain as he thought they would have. Even the operator of the flame spewing weapon was confused as he saw that his target wasn't already a pile of ash. Iris, seeing this as a one-time opportunity, took the chance to get up and tackle Tatsumi out of the flames.

The two of them tumbled to the ground, steam rising off Iris's body from where she had come into contact with the flames. Strangely she wasn't burned at all, causing more confusion to come from their attacker. Normally just a single flame from his Teigu would be enough to scar someone for life, but they had taken a torrent of the flames and had come out unscathed.

"How are you both still alive?" He asked the two of them as he kept a careful analytical eye on them awaiting their response with curiosity and a small hint of fear. His gaze lingered on Iris longer due to her unnatural appearance, causing multiple hypotheses to form in his head. He finally noticed that Tatsumi's skin was glowing a very faint but noticeable red. It wasn't the kind of red that one would get from a burning inferno but more of a loving embrace red of reassurance and compassion. The color actually brought back a series of memories in the man, making him feel even more guilty about the job he had to do.

"To be honest I don't know myself," Tatsumi answered the man as he shakily stood up. The man snapped back to reality as he remembered that he had asked a question in the first place. "But what I want to know is if it was you who burned that village?" Tatsumi eyed the man as his eyes filled with hatred. As he received no response Tatsumi just knew the burner of his village was indeed in front of him. The hatred and rage that had been building in him finally reached its peak as he lunged forward and lashed out and barely missed as the bigger man narrowly dodged. He was about to strike again but a hard force slammed into the side of his head and Tatsumi soon found himself laying on the ground with the flamethrower pointed at him.

Tatsumi eyed the man as he felt his thoughts continuing to darken as he received no response. Tatsumi concluded the burner of his village was indeed in front of him. as he would have already tried to deny if he was not instead of remaining silent. The dark thoughts that had been building in him finally reached its peak as they exploded in a violent fury similar to that of a hurricane's as he lunged forward and lashed out, barely missing the bigger man as narrowly dodged. He was about to strike again but his reflexes were too slow as he saw in the corner of his eye that this opponent had already started a counter attack as a hard force slammed into the side of his head causing Tatsumi to soon find himself laying on the ground with the flamethrower pointed at him.

"I truly am sorry." The man said as he began pulling the trigger. Just as the trigger was about to be pulled far enough to start spewing flames a colorful blur slammed into the man, making him stumble. He had completely forgotten Iris was there due to how quiet she had been. This forgetfulness had just cost him his opportunity to end his fight with Tatsumi. But as his opportunity closed one opened for Tatsumi as he had gotten back up to a fighting stance thanks to Iris's help. He had not expected her sudden rescue of him but he really did appreciate it but his mind barely registered due to his incoherent thoughts as his mind was only focused on the man before him.

"You have no idea what those people went through and you killed them anyways. They did nothing and you just murdered them!" He shouted making the red glow around him brighten with each word. If it weren't for the mask the man was wearing one would have seen a lone tear was escaping the man's left eye as he raised his weapon once again.

He was about to try again to finish this as quickly as possible but that was when he suddenly noticed a red glow near Tatsumi. It wasn't the red light that was around him, but it was a newly formed glow around Iris as the red part of her hair brightened considerably. Waves of power began to emit from the girl and the man shivered from them. He had only experienced power like this a few times before and he knew that he didn't stand a chance of stopping it. It would be like a fisherman trying to stop a tsunami, a feat which couldn't be done.

Tatsumi too consumed by his rage had not noticed the red aura on himself nor Iris as he advanced on his enemy. His thoughts had taken over and ridden him of all necessary thoughts as they tinged his vision with an ominous red. Only one clear thought was going through his mind and that was the thought of the man befoe him dying. He tensed the muscles in his leg as he prepared for an attack and as he lunged forward a new sensation began to overwrite his dark thoughts as fear consumed them. A coldness he had never felt before was encasing his body and his mind could only panic and try to figure out what was going on. But he never got the chance as he felt the sudden cold instantly overwhelm him causing him to black out not knowing what had happened.

The man who had just watched this happen let out a massive sigh of relief as he looked at the two frozen children before him. He was certain that if this had not happened, more blood would have been spilled. The scary part for him was that blood would have most likely been his. But he didn't have time to worry about that now since he had to deal with the person who froze them.

"Greetings General Esdeath," He said lacing his words with utmost respect. He did not perform a salute knowing from numerous rumors how the woman hated formal actions. A woman came out of the nearby treeline with a wicked grin on her face. She strode calmly into the clearing with an air of superiority about her as her long blue hair followed behind. A rapier with a point that could pierce multiple suits of armor rested on her side as she kept on of her hands over it delicately stroking it. A nightmarish aura surrounded her inducing fear into him as he felt just by being in the presence of this woman he was slowly losing his sanity. She continued walking forward to bend down in front of the frozen children, letting out a small laugh of amusement.

"Quite the threat these two were," she said as she turned around to face the man. "Normally, Bols, I wouldn't intrude on another's fight but due to certain circumstances I had to." She said as she looked at him with distaste. She hated the weak and she knew that the man before her was weaker than her. She considered everything alive was weaker than her but what she did not expect was for him to be weaker than the children. But she couldn't blame him much as she too had felt the aura Iris had produced and she was farther away than he was. But unlike him that aura had not scared her but had excited her.

"Forgive my rudeness general, but why are you in the area?" Bols questioned. She tilted her head and brought a finger to her chin as if thinking if she should tell him before she shrugged her shoulders.

"I was tasked with finding a powerful unknown Teigu in the area and I have been searching for weeks for no success." She then looked back at the frozen block of ice behind her. "At least there wasn't any until now."

Bols himself grew curious by this point and walked towards the block of ice and peered at the frozen captives.

"I thought there was supposedly only two biological Teigu?" He mused aloud.

"That was what I thought as well until during one of my late-night readings I came across an interesting piece of information, which led to me guessing that the final one would be in this area." Bols turned to look at her, extremely grateful for his mask, as she wouldn't be able to see the questioning and yet surprised look he had on his face. He had never expected her to be much of a reader but would not question it as it would more than likely end bad for his health.

"But still one of this power that was left unknown...How could that have been possible?" Bols asked as he recalled the fear-inducing power that seemed to roll of the young girl effortlessly.

"Even I do not know that, but I plan to ask once I have them transferred to the capital. That reminds me, I have an interesting proposition for you." Esdeath told him. Bols was surprised that she was bothering to ask him something but he knew no matter what it was he would more than likely accept due to what would happen if he denied.

"I would like to invite you to be the first member of a group I am forming to help quell that recent rebellion that has begun to rise." Her voice had grown, darker and more sadistic as she said this. Each of her words seemed to carry a frozen weight with them and it chilled his bones.

"It would be my honor, but may I ask what the purpose of this group is?" Bols asked. He was surprised that Esdeath was forming a group, as it was thought and well known she could take on an entire army alone. But if she was forming a group something big was happening.

"I'm sure you've heard of the assassin sisters deserting?" She asked him and at the nod of his head continued. "Well they both had Teigus in their possession and it is believed they joined the rebellion and are currently in a special Teigu user group in their army. I am making a similar group whose task is to put a stop to them, but I myself won't be able to participate as I am needed to quell another rebellion in the north."

"And what of them?" He asked pointing to the still frozen children. Esdeath had mentioned she would take them to the Empire but what came after that?

"They will come with me when I make my ways towards the north. During that time I plan to morph them into the perfect killing machine much like myself. It has been so long since I have had a fight that excited me and I plan on creating one worthy of the time that needs to be invested." Bols looked at the woman as if she were mad, whereas, in actuality, she really was.

"So you plan to train them to fight only so you can fight them in the end?" He asked to make sure.

"Precisely and since the quelling of those rebellious fools won't take too long they can even help us with the Teigu user group in the other rebellion. My only worry is that the human is still a child so his growth won't be as fast as I would like, but I may have to be patient just this once." She told him, clicking her tongue in annoyance.

"I must be on my way however as I am already late enough as it is. You can just keep receiving orders as you have until I return and we begin our mission." She tapped the block of ice and all of it melted save for an extremely thin layer around Tatsumi and Iris. She picked the two small forms up with ease, and she proceeded to walk away without another word, leaving Bols alone in the clearing.

"Something tells me that the future is going to be very problematic," Bols mutters to himself, not knowing how true his words were.

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! Special thanks to my new Beta-reader Yopu is Crying for helping me write this and the following chapters! Please leave lots of reviews so I know if I'm screwing up or doing well with the story and see you next time!

Next Chapter: The Vow


	4. The Vow

It had been a month since Tatsumi and Iris had been abducted and the two of them were utterly miserable. They hadn't been awake when Esdeath had arrived in the capital but had been woken up a day later when she had arrived at the current position that housed the northern army. From there they had been treated as criminals and were never allowed out of sight of the woman. Fortunately, they weren't fed like criminals nor were they forced to sleep on an uncomfortable bed.

The two of them were currently in their tent or cell as they called it. It was impossible for them to leave as Esdeath's tent was just opposite of theirs and two guards were always stationed on the outside. Tatsumi was currently leaning against the bed as Iris laid sprawled about it flicking her legs back and forth. Both of them were exhausted as they had been forced into a training regimen that so far had focused on running around the camp until they nearly threw up, performing enough pushups to turn their arms into jelly, and finally a little bit of swordplay albeit with wooden ones.

Neither of the two knew why they had been taken, but they knew they had no choice in the matter. If they refused to do what they were told death would be the result and even though their current lifestyle was miserable death was still one thing they did not wish to happen yet. They, however, did suspect it was for some reason that would only cause trouble for the two of them in the future. The only good thing that had happened over the month was the bond of utmost trust that had formed between them as they would have lost nearly all of their will if they had no one to lean on.

"Iris?" Tatsumi asked as he massaged his sore legs with his equally sore arms. Iris stopped the movement of her legs as she shuffled over to the edge of the bed and peered down at him only giving a soft 'Hm?' in response. "Do you think we will ever be free?" Tatsumi often thought about this thought during this time of evening as it was another motivator that helped him get through the day. Although this was the first time he had asked her such a question.

"I don't know." She responded as she got off the bed and sat down beside him. She raised her right hand and combed through her hair until she brought forward a few strands of pink hair before her eye and lazily gazed at them.

"If we were free what would you do?" He asked her causing her to drop her hair in surprise at the unexpected question. She hadn't thought about this as much as he had and due to being asked out of nowhere caused he to struggle with a response.

"I don't know." She replied before asking, "What would you do?"

"I would get stronger so I could avenge my village," Tatsumi replied seriously causing his mind to darken slightly as he thought about it.

"You are getting stronger now, though," Iris told him poking him in the arm which after a couple of weeks of training was beginning to change slightly.

"It's not right or natural," Tatsumi replied as he took a look at his body. "It feels as if something is inside me, changing how my mind thinks and accelerating my growth. I've always had the dangerbeast core within me so I know how that feels and this new feeling is similar yet alien." He explained trying to say it so she could understand. He didn't notice but as he had told her this a stray tear had leaked out of his showing Iris just how scared he was.

"It's okay Tatsumi if your body is getting stronger that is a good thing but as for your mind I promise I will make sure you don't change from who you are." She said reassuringly as she placed the palm of her hand on his and gave a gentle squeeze.

"Thank you." He told her as he felt tension he didn't know he had within him was released. He let out a content sigh and noticed that Iris was letting off the same purring noise as she had when the two first met. He let out a small chuckle as he closed his eyes and listened to the sound. The two of them sat where they were in comfortable silence for the rest of the night and didn't even feel themselves dose off into the realm of sleep.

Sadly that sleep was interrupted abruptly the next morning as Esdeath walked into the tent and shook the two of them awake.

"Come on brats we're marching again." She told them as she forced the two of them up and out of the tent. Both of them wanted to protest but knew better and shrugged their shoulders as their march begin. Luckily the camp had already packed up and their tent was easily collapsed by the two guards within seconds. After a hasty breakfast that consisted of a few strips of bacon they began their day-long march.

Hours past as they walked deeper into the frozen wasteland but they did not protest as they knew of the consequences. This wasn't their first time marching since they had been abducted but even still it was no easy task to walk for hours on end for the two children. Luckily and yet strangely they didn't march until dusk like usually but they stopped around the evening on a giant frozen cliff that overlooked a city.

The city itself looked to be a fortress as massive stone walls circled it and absolutely nothing but the frozen snow was on the outside of the behemoth walls. As the Tatsumi and Iris gazed at the sight both of them gave an unexpected shiver not from the cold but from the chaotic aura that was from Esdeath. The woman had a predatorial grin on her face and seemed to be observing the city as it was her prey.

"About time we got here." The older woman muttered as she looked at the city. She then turned around to her troops and said loud enough for all of them to hear, "We have arrived at our destination. Set up camp and take it easy for the rest of the night because we attack at dawn." The soldiers seemed eager to set up camp whether it be from finally having something to do besides walk, get away from the cold, or just respect for Esdeath no one knew.

"She's attacking the city?" Tatsumi whispered to Iris as he looked at the place with pity and anger within him. He pitied the people in the city because he knew the pain that would come from losing their homes. He had no doubt that if Esdeath said they were attacking the city they were going to and would win. From the time he had been around her, he had gotten a very small feeling of her true power and it was terrifying. But however terrifying she may be he hated her, she was no better than the man who had burned his village to the ground and he wanted to do nothing more than to kill her where she stood right now.

"Come on brats follow me," Esdeath said breaking him out of his thoughts. They followed her into her tent which had been one of the first set up and also the only one that dared to stand at the edge of the cliff itself. As they walked in they were greeted with the sight of weapons along the walls and tables with maps scattered about everywhere. Even though they had been here a few times already the sight of the weapons some still stained with blood served them. Nonetheless, they followed her over to the table and sat down.

"So what do you think?" She asked the two of them out of nowhere. Neither of them responded as they had no clue what she was referring to. Esdeath saw the confused looks on the two and said, "I want your opinions on our chances to take the city. Be honest and truthful." The two shared a look at each other showing that neither was really eager to respond.

"Chances of a successful siege are incredibly likely but not guaranteed." Iris finally said in a monotone. A brief second of irritation crossed Esdeath's face for a second before she nodded towards her. She looked like she wanted to ask for more details but didn't as she probably knew that was the most she could get out of the young girl.

"And what do you think Tatsumi?" She asked him as she observed him carefully.

"I agree the chances are high but not guaranteed. Your soldiers, while they may have been in this climate for a bit, are not locals so there is always that home turf advantage. There is also the fact that the snow will make it difficult to place ladders down to scale the walls meaning the only way in with the fewest casualties would be sheer brute force which is something you have a surplus of. The only thing that is not guaranteed is the strength of their soldiers and numbers." He told her after a couple minutes of careful thought. His answer surprised her as she had never expected such an accurate observation from someone this age.

She clicked her tongue before she said, "I see...thank you for your opinions. I want you both to go back to your tent and rest well tonight as you will be participating in the battle tomorrow.

"We are!?" Tatsumi asked wide eyed. He had expected to observe the battle from afar. However, part of him should have expected since Esdeath was determined to keep the two of them as close to her as possible.

"Yes, how else are you going to learn the true meaning of war?" She asked him like it was the most obvious things. "Now get out of here and go rest." Tatsumi opened his mouth to say something before closing it again as he realized there was nothing that would change her mind. Without another word, he left the tent with Iris trailing behind.

"Can you believe this?" Tatsumi asked Iris once they were situated inside their tent. She didn't say anything as she sat down on the bed above from where Tatsumi was leaning against it. Seeing he wasn't getting a response he continued, "We don't really know anything about war sure we can fight but a battle!" He vented as he gripped the freshly cleared dirt beneath him that was still wet due to the snow that was there not so long ago.

"We will stay safe." Iris finally said earning a look from Tatsumi.

"Yeah, we will I promise you. I got you into this mess Iris so hear my words now, I promise I will protect you and I will kill every last Teigu user out there. Even if it cost's me my life I vow I will make this happen and keep you safe." He said in a determined tone earning a look of happiness from Iris. She hummed in agreement ignoring the part of her that felt at edge during the part where he promised to kill the Teigu users.

"And I shall protect you." She told him earning a smile herself. Not another word was exchanged that night as both of their minds were too focused on the upcoming battle. But not matter how hard they though neither of them could have predicted the set of events that would befall them shortly.

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading!**

 **Next Chapter: Siege of the North**


	5. Siege of the North

It did not even take five minutes for Tatsumi to be mentally scarred by war. The shrieks of men dying filled the air as the blood turned the once pure snow into a bloody crimson mess. If this wasn't bad enough the gleeful laughter of Esdeath was enough to push him over the edge of the cliff into the sea of madness. Luckily for him, Iris was next to him and was trying her best to soothe him even though she was just as equally repulsed.

"Come on you two I want to see you put that training of yours to work," Esdeath told them as she ushered them forward. So far the siege was going without a hitch which even surprised Esdeath since the so-called 'Champion of the North' had yet to reveal himself. But that didn't matter because at the rate her troops were going to the city would be theirs by the hour.

"You want us to kill?" Iris asked her appalled at the thought of killing innocent people.

"Yes, I expect to see your blades stained with blood." Tatsumi gave an incredulous look as he gazed at his treasured weapon before his gaze flickered over to Iris who was awkwardly holding a sword of her own.

"This is madness," Tatsumi told Esdeath as he watched another person get decapitated.

"War is madness and so is life. If you think anything but that then you are the mad one." Was her response as she raised her rapier and cut down three enemy soldiers who had rushed them. She smirked as she looked at the red liquid on her blade but also at the one man who was still alive barely breathing. "Kill him." She instructed Tatsumi. He didn't budge causing her to frown. "I said kill him." She said once again but this time her words were laced with venom.

"I won't." He told her causing a tick mark to form.

"And why is that?" She asked putting heavy a heavy emphasis of anger on each word.

"They are not my enemy." Was his simple response. Esdeath let out an aggravated sigh as she grabbed Iris and held her rapier against the young girl's throat. Tatsumi who had watched this pointed his own sword at Esdeath causing her to smirk.

"Your choice, it's his life or hers." Tatsumi had a look of pure hate in his eyes as he gazed at the ice tyrant but his gaze quickly fell on the dying man nearby. He didn't want to kill him but he had no other choice. This was a form of mercy as the man would die anyway he thought to himself as stabbed downwards. He felt his blade sink into flesh as he watched the life in the man's eyes fade away being replaced with a cold emptiness.

"Was that so hard?" Esdeath asked in a pleased tone as she released Iris.

"I'm going to kill you," Tatsumi said in a low growl.

"I'm sorry what was that?" Esdeath asked even though she knew what he said.

"I said I am going to kill you!" He shouted at her causing her to laugh.

"The day that you can own up to those words is one I gladly await." She said as a crazy gleam appeared in her eyes. The trio then walked in silence as they continued making their way towards the heart of the city. Anyone that was foolish to rush them was soon killed by Esdeath who occasionally forced Tatsumi to end them. She had thought about doing the same for Iris but every time Esdeath was about to force her Tatsumi took her place.

"Can you feel the weight yet?" Esdeath asked him after he had killed his tenth opponent who this time he had fought at full health instead of being wounded by Esdeath like the others.

"The weight of what?" He asked. She noted that his face was slightly green and he was refusing to look at his blade.

"The men that you have killed. Can you feel the weight of their lives on your shoulders? Can you hear their last words of pleading and remember their blood stained faces?" She asked clearly enjoying the reaction she was getting out of him.

"I can." He replied ashamed of his answer. Esdeath bent down to the level where their eyes met as she sent a glare into his upon hearing his answer.

"If you are going to learn anything from me then memorize what I am about to tell you. Their lives did not matter, they were weak to die to you and even weaker to die for their cause which they can not emerge victorious from. Their lives were just as important as a fly on the wall and they should be remembered that way. No weight should burden your shoulders or else you will sink as low as them." She then stood up and began leading the two again leaving Tatsumi to his thoughts.

He honestly didn't know what to think of what she had just told them. Sure those men were weak when compared to Esdeath. Practically everyone was when compared to her but were they weak in general? Sure the last man he had killed had fallen to himself alone but he did have a modified body. As his thoughts wracked his brain he was too distracted to notice Iris slipping her hand into his. He was only aware of this when she finally gave his hand a gentle reassuring squeeze.

"It's okay." Were the only words she said as he looked up at her eyes. He gave her an appreciative smiling at her reassurance.

"Thank you." He told her as the trio began walking again. For the next ten minutes, no soldiers attacking them which was incredibly odd but the reason for that was soon answered when the three of them found themselves surrounded by at least two hundred enemies.

"Likes moths to a flame, the weak will flock to the strong," Esdeath noted as she looked at the thickest concentration of men who seemed to be surrounding one particular individual. She gave a grin happy that the most interesting part was about to come before she looked at the two children behind her. "Whatever you do stay out of my way; if anyone comes to kill you return the favor." She told them as she readied her rapier.

Without a warning, she formed several spikes in the air and sent them towards the group of men before her and watched with a sadistic grin as many of the spikes were dyed red. She had cleared a path towards her target and had taken out a good portion of the surrounding man making it rather easy to move around freely.

"Is this the best the Northern Tribes have to offer?" She taunted as she looked at the young man before her. He had long black hair and pale blue eyes that were laden with fear but also unwavering determination. He had a suit of gray armor on and on his forehead there was a metal headpiece which Esdeath looked forward to eagerly see hanging on her walls. In his hands was a long spear which had a faint white glow around it indicating that it was no doubt a Teigu.

"You're tyranny ends here Esdeath!" The man shouted as he gave a nod to his men who began to circle behind the trio.

"We shall see about that," Esdeath said darkly as she lunged forward at speeds almost unregisterable to the human eye. The man blocked her attack and sent a swipe with his spear causing a gust of wind to kick up blowing the blue haired woman away.

"A wind Teigu? This is why you are feared?" Esdeath scoffed not believing this man had caused so many problems for The Empire. She began a slow steady advance and blocked every possible attack thrown at her with ease. Every time a slice of wind came she would raise her rapier and cut the attack in half or deflect it with a shield of ice. As she advanced on her opponent the nearby soldiers were advancing from behind. Tatsumi and Iris who had noticed this had taken out their weapons but were looking hesitatingly at the group before them.

Iris wanted to say something but was cut off as one of the men was foolish enough to charge forward and was quickly cut down by Tatsumi. She didn't know what made her more disgusted, the fact that these men weren't hesitating to try and kill a child or the sheer amount of blood that was flowing along the ground. His death had sent a message as no lone soldier dared dart forward and instead, a small group rushed forward.

Tatsumi while experience with swordplay was still not adept enough to fight off ten blades at once and because of this, he found himself quickly losing. As he blocked another attack he noticed a dull blue glow in the reflection of his blade. He dared not turn his back on his opponents but he assumed that due to the color that Esdeath had something to do with it.

He couldn't have been more wrong as Iris let off the blue aura as she stared into the eyes of the men around Tatsumi causing them to shudder. It was as if their insides were freezing over and their movements began to grow sluggish, it wasn't ice that was freezing them but the aspect of fear itself. Tatsumi had seen this and took advantage and quickly cut down three men. He gave a grin seeing that his chances were better but stopped when the rest of his opponents dropped to the ground dead. If once were to take a closer look at their eyes it would have been obvious that the cause of death was fear.

Tatsumi looked at the corpses wondering what happened but was drawn out of his thoughts as a cry of pain was heard. Seeing as he had no opponents besides the now cowering mass a couple yards away he turned around and saw that Esdeath had cut the arm off of her opponent. While he stared at this he failed to notice the blue glow around Iris as it faded.

"And I thought coming all the way up here would be a challenge." Esdeath sneered as she looked at the pathetic excuse of a man before her. During her fight with him, he had stopped moving completely and had grown a look of immense fear. Esdeath unlike Tatsumi had turned around and saw the source of the fear was Iris herself. While she would have preferred to fight and kill her opponent fairly she did take this as a chance to study the fear induced effect on the man.

His eyes were widened and horror with his map slightly agape as it twitched. If he was trying to say something it wasn't known as no noise came out of the opened mouth. After looking at him for a second she had then decided to end this and cut off his hand. This had enticed the man to let out a howl of pain but that was soon silenced as his head was cut off.

A smile graced Esdeath's face as she looked at her fallen opponent knowing that the battle and the siege were victorious.

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading!**

 **Next Chapter: Night Raid**


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